


Afterspark Podcast: G1 Episode 40: The Core

by specspectacle, Twilight-Owls (LadyTorix)



Series: Afterspark Podcast: Transformers G1 [41]
Category: The Transformers (Cartoon Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Embedded Video, Episode Commentary, Episode Review, Podcast, Podfic, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 20-30 Minutes, Swearing, Video, YouTube, transcript
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:00:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28404372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/specspectacle/pseuds/specspectacle, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyTorix/pseuds/Twilight-Owls
Summary: The Decepticons drill to the center of the Earth while the Autobots engage in a questionable amount of mind control.
Series: Afterspark Podcast: Transformers G1 [41]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1220114
Kudos: 2





	Afterspark Podcast: G1 Episode 40: The Core

**Author's Note:**

> As always, if you need an audio only version of the podcast please check out the links at the end of the transcript.

[Stinger]

O: Wait!- but this is fine. Like, this does not make me want to fly into a rage.

[Intro music]

O: Hello and welcome to the Afterspark Podcast, an episode by episode recap of the Generation 1 Transformers cartoon. I'm Owls!

S: And I'm Specs.

O: Today we're talking about episode number 40: The Core. Let's talk about giant robots today, shall we?

S: Yep, let's go!

O: Today on The  _ Core _ , complete with ominous music and waterfall.

S: The Decepticons are revealed to be drilling to the coooooooore of the Earth- 

O: Title drop!

S: In some fancy caverns, because this really doesn't look like it's been excavated by giant robots, the Constructicons are monitoring the, uh, the giant-ass drill that, you know, they're using for this drilling when cracks begin to form in the rock at its base and, I mean, are they fracking?

O: Well, if one of the two fractions was gonna frack-

S: [laughter]

O: You know it would be the Decepticons?

S: You said ‘fractions.’

O: Oh god, did I?

S: Yes.

O: [Laughter] All right.

S: Ah, Scrapper yells for them to stop.

O: Hook decides to be a know-it-all with a good old-fashioned, “I told you so.”

S: While hitting the shut-off lever with his hook.

O: In vehicle mode, so I find it hilarious that he did this in vehicle mode.

S: Most of the Transformers don't really have, you know, movable- parts that are so movable like that so we don't see this very often.

O: And then the Decepticons seal the crack with lasers. 

S: Well, lasers and Mixmasters’ quick setting putty glue or whatever. But I mean when all you've got is a hammer every problem starts to look like a nail. Or in this case: a gun.

O: I have to question: is using quick setting silicone a good idea? Because I legitimately do not know.

S: I don't think it's a good idea- it's probably going to, you know, poison the water supply.

O: I mean, they don't know- they don't care.

S: Yeah, I mean, who's gonna tell Mixmaster off? 

O: He's a  _ master _ chemist!

S: Apparently, you need to shoot the silicon with some lasers to harden it? I mean, I guess that- that tracks? I guess that's normal?

O: Why not?

S: Yeah, um, so the Constructicons managed to seal the crack and Megatron appears out of absolutely fucking nowhere.

O: And he has Opinions! 

S: Opinions with a capital ‘O.’

O: This is infinitely funnier if Megatron is still a miner in this continuity because it means he might actually know what he's talking about when he's yelling at them for not detecting this crack sooner.

S: Mm-hm. Structural integrity would be very important- important to his, um, life expectancy in that-

O: Right-

S: Instance. And theirs and everyone's. Um, so Starscream is off to the side not so quietly muttering about how this is all going to get them killed.

O: Megatron walks over and puts a hand on Starscream's shoulder. I have questions.

S: Oh, so do i, but Starscream's apparently doing science and I guess Megatron finds this sexy.

O: He blinded me with science? 

S: I guess.

O: But our grand scheme for today is to tap into earth's core for energy.

S: So it's like geothermal energy except they somehow manage to make it evil. 

O: They- they actually use a renewable energy source for once and still manage to miss the point entirely in that it should be, you know, renewable.

S: They've got, I mean, I guess they've got to hit their evil quota for the day.

O: So then Starscream reaches up and grabs a perfectly round boulder out of the wall as a prop to give Megatron a lec- an impromptu lecture-

S: Mm-hmm. Using a drill, he tells the audience, i mean, Megatron that if they drill into the Earth and, you know, pierce the core, I guess, it'll shatter. Well, Earth will shatter.

O: All in all, a surprisingly cordial conversation for these two even with Starscream telling Megatron he's wrong.

S: They're- they're on good terms today. They got out on the wrong side of the bed- wrong side of the berth.

O: Something like that. Anyway, Megatron takes Starscream outside and then walks straight into a rock cliff face.

S: You'd- you’d think they'd have used that tech to hide the entrance of their drill cavern but nooooooo.

O: Because Megatron basically shows Starscream that this is hiding a space bridge so they can conveniently escape anytime they need to, even if the planet explodes. He even says, “We will all be safe,” in, like, the most evil way possible with his eyes all glowy and everything.

S: Yes. I mean, that is obviously the best use of hologram technology. Obviously. Elsewhere the Autobots are getting down and dirty.

O: Jazz, Gears, Mirage, Sunstreaker, and Prowl are all driving on a riverbed sans river.

S: Well, I guess this is where that river came from that the Decepticons were using. And Gears gets some mud on him and is not too happy about it.

O: Surprised it wasn't Sunstreaker getting mad about his paint job getting ruined but okay.

S: Sunstreaker has, I don't know, Sunstreaker is faster so he's able to be out in front and not have to deal with all this shit.

O: [Laughter] He's throwing all the mud  _ on _ Gears, got it.

S: The Autobots drive up the riverbed to try and figure out what happened to, you know, said missing river and discover that it's been redirected into a canyon via some sort of earth dam.

O: Of course, two of the Constructicons are helpfully outside for the Autobots to spot.

S: You'd really think there'd be some foliage around this river but nah it's just all, you know, rock, dirt, dust.

O: But apparently Mixmaster has been fixing Scavenger’s geologic analyzer circuits.

S: As ordered by Megatron and apparently they have to- they do all of their medical procedures outside or maybe he just told them to do that, I don't remember.

O: It's good for what ails you? 

S: Well, it is a breath of fresh air.

O: That's helpful for robots for some reason.

S: I don't know, maybe, I don't know. I- like, it would make more sense if they were in some sort of sealed area to make sure like dust and whatever didn't get in there but apparently it's not a concern.

O: Right.

S: And then the Constructicons jump into the canyon. Apparently they didn't see the Autobots, I don't remember.

O: No, they didn't. They were just like, oh, time to go inside now.

S: Yeah, and the Autobots head to the edge to take a look and see what the heck's going on.

O: Which they're spotted by Laserbeak who basically warns Soundwave almost immediately and they are not good at stealth.

S: They really aren't. Megatron gets mad at Mixmaster and Scavenger for being seen calling them, “Iridium-plated idiots!”

O: Iridium is apparently the second densest metal so he's calling them dense! What's this? Halfway clever writing in a Transformers episode?

S: Well, this- this episode does have- generally, it sounds like better- is-

O: I- yeah, I can't really complain about the dialogue too much in this one.

S: Yeah, this one's got better writing, I think, than most. Like, it's got better structural integrity as far as the writing and, like, base plot goes.

O: Yeah, I'll give you that.

S: Megatron and the Constructions head to the surface where the combiner proceeds to form Devastator in short order.

O: Devastator hurls a boulder at everybody but Mirage, knocking them off the cliff. 

S: Mirage has somehow ended up on the other side of the river and Devastator then knocks him off with eye lasers.

O: Mirage go bang all the way down.

S: Yep, then Mirage grabs onto a dead tree. Like, the one piece of foliage that's there? Well, dead foliage and he turns invisible before the tree and presumably him also fall into the basin of water below.

O: The other five Autobots all begin to fight Devastator.

S: Later, we see or, rather, don't see Mirage enter the drill cavern, still invisible, as some Constructicons chill in the background.

O: So he basically sees the drill and just like, “Aha! I have to tell everybody,” but then back outside the other Autobots are still fighting Devastator. Like, initially, I thought, hey, this must be happening later- the others got captured but no! So who were those Constructicons in the cave?

S: They're part of the Constructicon union. 

O: That's not any dumber than anything else that ends up happening in this episode so sure.

S: Oh, yeah, I mean we all know it's- [sighs]

O: Constructicons-

S: -Animation-

O: [Are] the new seekers.

S: Yeah, animation errors with that. Yeah- the new seekers, they are. So, Mirage runs back out to the others, and he and Sunstreaker take a cable while Jazz distracts and dazzles Devastator. 

O: Sunstreaker and Mirage do a cunning impression of a bola, wrapping the cable around Devastator's legs, tripping him. 

S: While Devastator is down the Autobots just drive on off.

O: But today, on Mount St. Hilary, we are allowed to have foliage.

S: That's exciting. In the Ark the others have clearly reported to Optimus and everyone agrees they need to stop the Cons but aren't sure what to do about Devastator.

O: Then Chip gets an idea. A very bad idea.

S: Very, very, very bad.

O: And by “bad” we mean unethical. Like HIGHLY unethical. 

S: As in, I think Chip maybe needs to take perhaps a step back from the science and maybe go into more social and ethics classes.

O: Yeah, I was thinking we need to put Chip in an ethics class because Wheeljack and Chip have built a device so they can control Devastator.

S: And actually, you know what? All of the Autobots need to go and engage in an ethics class.

O: Yes.

S: Well, the Autobots, I guess, feel like they can have little mind control, you know, as a treat today. I'm sure absolutely nothing will go wrong with this. /s

O: But wasn't this literally the entire, like- an entire plot point in- in War for Cybertron: Siege that overriding somebody's brain was unethical? I guess it's fine when the Autobots do it!

S: Uegh. Yeah.

O: Apparently, they just need to get a dominator disc on each of the Constructicons before they form Devastator.

S: Oh, that doesn't sound dirty at aaaaall. /s

O: Considering Chip's not entirely sure if this is going to work properly, are we so certain this isn't going to just turn Devastator into the world's biggest dom?

S: [snickers] 

O: That's not disturbing at all on like multiple levels but okay! 

S: The Autobots arrive at the waterfall under the cover of night. 

O: Then Jazz, Sunstreaker, and Wheeljack, uh, use convenient never- and never before seen hand thrusters to get down to the canyon floor.

S: I don't think we're gonna see those again.

O: I-I feel like I can't comment either way, I don't remember them popping up but for all I know they'll show up later! I don't know. I don't know.

S: Who knows? Uh, Mirage zip lines down on Jazz's hook shot. 

O: Prowl jumps down from out of nowhere.

S: And Optimus orders Ironhide to freeze the falls which we remind you he can do because Ironhide can do everything.

O: Swiss army knife. This causes the drill the Decepticons are using to overheat as they were using the water to keep said drill cool and the Constructicons evacuate to the surface.

S: One by one, the Autobots sneakily put the dominator discs on each of the Constructicons by, you know, going ‘we're just going to hide in these shallow holes and then reach up and put something on someone- somebody else's body.’ 

O: Again, this is fine because we're the good guys. I do love that Mirage manages to shoot two of them at the same time and that- that's pretty great. 

S: Yeah, he manages to hit both of his targets, even.

O: Jazz does a trick throw- bouncing the disc off the ground, while Wheeljack just shoots the last Constructicon. Much more straightforward, that one.

S: Yeah. Optimus retrieves his subordinates by dropping a, like, wire platform thing down from his, uh, trailer and then lifting them up and then, uh, the Autobots are spotted in this thing by Starscream who's here for the snipe hunt.

O: He takes aim and says and, I quote, “It's like shooting dynametal ducks sitting in a beryllium barrel and I mean dead ducks!” That's it! This is my favorite line in this entire episode.

S: It's a pretty good line.

O: It’s so dumb, I love it.

S: We cut to a commercial before we're back with Megatron who Starscream's arm down and tells him to let them go. Megatron is apparently aware of the Autobots’ entire plan and has one of his own. He's very prescient today.

O: Is Ravage just camping in the Ark now? How does- how does he know about this? 

S: Yeah, the Cons have been in the Ark so often that surely they have to have it bugged at this point. 

O: You would think? Or something.

S: Yeah. The Cons meet up near the twinkling frozen waterfall to wait for the Autobots to attack.

O: Apparently Ravage is not the one on the Ark if, uh, one of the cassettes is indeed on the Ark because Soundwave sends him out of his compartment here. 

S: Yep. Starscream whines and then the Cons open fire on the Autobots.

O: Many explosions happen.

S: And now Sideswipe’s here. 

O: I'd say they mis-colored Sunny but they look different enough and it's clearly Sideswipes’ face when he transforms so... Fine. Fine. 

S: And I'm pretty sure Bluestreak shows up but I guess it could be a mis-colored Prowl except Bluestreak is, I don't know, at least fanon-wise he's known to be a sharpshooter. 

O: Yeah, I just- I really don't know, like, animation errors are so common in the show, I legitimately don't know. 

S: Yeah.

O: The Constructicons form Devastator who begins kicking the Autobots-

S: Oh, and Huffer and Gears are here.

O: Okay, that's it, the Autobots in the scene just keep multiplying like rabbits! Where are they coming from? 

S: Mm-hm. Chip activates the dominator discs and Devastator happily begins taking orders from Optimus, knocking Seekers out of the sky left and right. 

O: The Cons retreat to their caverns and Devastator collapses the entrance.

S: Prime's just gonna leave the Cons here for now. He wants to go home and get a nap, I mean, um, repairs. 

O: And they have no water despite the waterfall still clearly moving in this last shot. Woohoo! Animation errors. 

S: In the cave, Starscream is here to bitch.

O: “Your strategy eludes me, Megatron!” 

S: Megatron has a random device that can just randomly disrupt the dominator discs.

O: HOW?!

S: He clearly cooked up something so nobody could mind control him.

O: That's very plausible, I’ll allow it.

S: Starscream is upset Megatron didn't tell him beforehand and, I swear to god, Megatron- I don't know if he says this word for word- but the intent is, “Starscream, you can't act.” [Laughter]

S: Yep, it is. Megatron stored enough water for the last bit the drill needs to break through so they begin drilling again.

O: Starscream is still quite nervous but reminds himself they can escape via the space bridge any time they want. 

S: Back at the Ark, Hook is having his ego stroked and is doing some light surgery on Jazz. I think with his hook, again.

O: There's an earthquake and Optimus realizes the Cons have started drilling again as the Autobots head out.

S: Hook drives on over to Devastator's headless body and rejoins it and, I mean, it's a little weird that he's just the head since usually I think he makes up some part of the chest, as well? 

O: Just don't ask questions. They don't want us to ask questions, Specs. They don't want us to ask any questions. Apparently Megatron's just monitoring the Ark through Devastator's eyes and I still question how he found out their plan to begin with but, regardless, the Decepticons are all prepared by the time the Autobots show up.

S: Also the fact that Devastator's eyes are literally part of Hook-

O: Yeah.

S: Like how did that work when he was not part of Devastator?

O: [Laughter] I'm just like, “Ah, yes, he was seeing through, like, I don't know? His butt-”

S: [Laughter]

O: All he could see was the floor.

S: About halfway through this episode they changed how they were drawing Megatron's face. I mean, he did look reasonably on model at the beginning but at this point he just looks extremely chinny.

O: I'm getting Sentinel flashbacks. Thanks, guys, thank you, I hate it. 

S: Yeah, Megatron deactivates the dominator discs and Devastator attacks the Autobots. And then, oh god!? When did Ratchet get here because he's here now, too.

O: How does anyone get anywhere in this show? They all just sort of manifest in this episode.

S: Oh, yeah, really they do. Um, there's another earthquake and the ground begins to crack around the drill. 

O: Chip and Wheeljack attempt to get Devastator back under their control but instead they fry his brain.

S: Oh, that is dark.

O: Devastator goes berserk and begins attacking everyone. 

S: Hey, Devastator, don't you just want to go apeshit? Aren't you tired of being nice?

O: [Muffled laughter] Apparently, yes!

S: He picks up Starscream and throws him at the drill controls, um, doing obvious damage.

O: Which causes the drill to go berserk and Megatron rushes over to the control panel. So, apparently, the drill would like to go apeshit, too. 

S: Oh, what an exciting day! Every- no one has no- I- any idea that any of this shit is going on and, god, this would be such a surprise. Megatron and Starscream get snippy with each other and Megatron orders the Cons to the space bridge. 

O: However, in lieu of Devastator not having a big enough hole to escape the caverns from he makes his own!

S: Coming up right under the space bridge! Meaning the Cons can no longer get away.

O: Devastator then begins attacking the Cons, too. Megatron reaches the conclusion that they can stop the planet from exploding if they stop the drill.

S: And then suddenly: Wheeljack. 

O: He pops out of Devastator's hole to agree with Megatron. 

S: The hole Devastator made because, god, that could be read so badly. Optimus tells Megatron to give his electronic disrupter to Chip and Wheeljack so they can try and get Devastator under control and then have him destroy the drill. 

O: Starscream does not like this plan and runs over to Devastator to try to get help before getting blasted by laser beams into a boulder.

S: Megatron hands over the disrupter to Wheeljack saying that he's, “only doing this for the sake of his Decepticons.” It's like, “I grieve that you will profit from this,” or something. 

O: Yeah, but strangely protective Megatron today in this episode. I'm- I'm okay with this.

S: Like, yeah, that's a particularly good line. I like it. 

O: It was a good line.

S: Yeah. And so, between the Autobots and the Decepticons, they managed to get Devastator under control.

O: Who then holds his chest like he's having a heart attack and face plants into the ground, splitting up into his components. 

S: Ah, the Constructicons are a bit dazed but Megatron orders them to reform and destroy the drill.

O: Before doing so the Constructicons have a moment and, quite possibly, a group hug.

S: [Sigh] They all need more group hugs.

O: They do.

S: Devastator dives into the drill hole and catches on to the drill causing it to explode and, I mean, this entire sequence is kind of goofy.

O: Oh, very.

S: So-

O: The other Cons, however, make a hasty retreat and Devastator bursts forth from the ground asking where “Noble Megatron” is before leaving via another Devastator-sized hole in the ceiling that he has made because he could not use the first one.

S: Ah, maybe he was hoping the ceiling would come down on the Autobots.

O: [Laughter] Fair. 

S: Chip is rather disappointed that Devastator didn't join the Autobots and Prime tells him to hold on to his dreams. 

O: Dreams: yes. Mind control: no!

S: That's not how you make friends, Chip.

O: And that's the end of the episode. Join us next time for: ‘Make Tracks,’ where we finally get to see one of our favorite human characters: Raul, a whole lot of 80’s punks, and a simple can of spray paint undoes Megatron's scheme.

S: All right, both of our fanfic recommendations for today are from Owls, so she will be giving the overview.

O: Yes. Uh, this just happened to be that I had a couple of fics about Megatron being a miner and considering they were underground, I thought, “This will work well!” So our first one is “Echoes” by Owlix, as in Owl-ix. Uh, no relation. Continuity is IDW, it is G, it is Gen, there are no pairings, and our only character is Megatron. In summary, “Sometimes he still dreams of mining,” and our character theme rec is “being underground.” Uh, it is part of a, uh-

S: Series?

O: Series. Yes, that's what I'm trying to get, uh, called “Confined Spaces” and then our second one is “Under Surveillance” also by Owlix and the continuity is IDW. It's rated T, it is Gen, no pairings, our only two characters are Megatron and Impactor, and, in summary, “In the mines, even a small personal act of rebellion has meaning. Megatron takes control of his own life where he can find it.” And this is also part of “Confined Spaces” and kind of the same theme. This is probably my favorite one out of this series, so I really wanted to recommend it because it is the longest but also I think the best and it has an interesting premise.

S: Nice! And that just about wraps it up for us today. Remember to check us out on Tumblr or Pillowfort as Afterspark-Podcast for any additional information, show notes, or links we may have mentioned. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at AftersparkPod (all one word) and various other locations by searching for Afterspark Podcast such as AO3, iTunes, Spotify, and Youtube, just to name a few. And feel free to send us questions on Tumblr, Youtube, or AO3! Till next time, I'm Specs.

O: And I’m Owls.

S: Toodles.

[Outro Music] 

**Author's Note:**

> **Fanfic Recommendations:**
> 
>   * [Echoes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061635) by [Owlix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owlix/pseuds/Owlix)
>   * [Under Surveillance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1677086) by [Owlix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owlix/pseuds/Owlix)
> 

> 
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